Question

To ask the President of COP26, with reference to point 6 of the Glasgow Leader's Declaration on Forests and Land Use which committed signatories to facilitate the alignment of financial flows with international goals to reverse forest loss and degradation, what steps the Government plans to take to implement that commitment.

The signing of the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use by 145 world leaders committed to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030. Alongside this political commitment, an ambitious policy package was announced. Specifically, 12 donor countries pledged to provide $12 billion (£8.75 billion) of public climate finance from 2021 to 2025 to a new Global Forest Finance Pledge (GFFP); the UK convened a $1.7 billion public and private donor pledge to advance Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ (IPLC) forest tenure rights; and 33 financial institutions committed to eliminate investment in activities linked to deforestation.

On point 6, the UK is developing tools to drive transparency in the financial sector, including requirements for UK financial institutions to have a robust transition plan setting out how they will decarbonise as the UK meets its ambitious and legally binding net zero targets. The UK also actively supports the Taskforce on Nature Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), including £2.8m of funding for the development of a framework for corporates and financial institutions to assess, manage and report on their dependencies and impacts on nature.

There was a recent call for evidence regarding updating the green finance strategy, which closed in June 2022. This included questions regarding deforestation. We are in the process of analysing the responses to the call for evidence and will reflect on them, alongside other sources of evidence, including the Global Resource Initiative’s (GRI) finance report.

To ensure the money committed in the Pledge is delivered to these communities, a report on the progress of the GFFP will be presented by COP27. The UK is a leading member of the donor coordination group to advance IPLC pledge commitments and report on progress by COP27. The UK will continue to work with donors to ensure pledged funds are delivered to local communities and indigenous peoples.